TOOL FOR ACCURATE QUANTIFICATION IN MOLECULAR MRI

• US 20110044524A1
• Filed: 04/28/2009
• Published: 02/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cornell University
• Original Assignee: Cornell University
• Inventors: Liu, Tian, de Rochefort, Ludovic, Wang, Yi, Kressler, Bryan, Spincemaille, Pascal
• Granted Patent: US 8,781,197 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/131
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/54 Signal processing systems, e.g. using pulse sequences ; Generation or control of pulse sequences; Operator console
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5601 involving use of a contrast agent for contrast manipulation, e.g. a paramagnetic, super-paramagnetic, ferromagnetic or hyperpolarised contrast agent
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5608 Data processing and visualization specially adapted for MR, e.g. for feature analysis and pattern recognition on the basis of measured MR data, segmentation of measured MR data, edge contour detection on the basis of measured MR data, for enhancing measured MR data in terms of signal-to-noise ratio by means of noise filtering or apodization, for enhancing measured MR data in terms of resolution by means for deblurring, windowing, zero filling, or generation of gray-scaled images, colour-coded images or images displaying vectors instead of pixels image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/563 of moving material, e.g. flow contrast angiography

Abstract

A method and apparatus is provided for magnetic source magnetic resonance imaging. The method includes collecting energy signals from an object, providing additional information of characteristics of the object, and generating the image of the object from the energy signals and from the additional information such that the image includes a representation of a quantitative estimation of the characteristics, e.g a quantitative estimation of magnetic susceptibility. The additional information may comprise predetermined characteristics of the object, a magnitude image generated from the object, or magnetic signals collected from different relative orientations between the object and the imaging system. The image is generated by an inversion operation based on the collected signals and the additional information. The inversion operation minimizes a cost function obtained by combining the data extracted from the collected signals and the additional information of the object. Additionally, the image is used to detect a number of diagnostic features including microbleeds, contract agents and the like.

Claims

1. A method for providing an image from complex energy signals collected from an object, the method including:

collecting the complex energy signals from the object, where each of the complex energy signals includes phase and magnitude components;

providing additional information of characteristics of the object, wherein the additional information is independent from the phase components; and

generating the image of the object from the energy signals and from the additional information such that the image includes a representation of a quantitative estimation of the characteristics.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating an intermediate data using the collected complex signals.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the intermediate data is generated from phase data.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the complex signals are signals in a nuclear magnetic resonance process.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional information is determined independently from the complex signals.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing undesirable effects from the image.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the undesirable effects are caused by noise, background field, or chemical shift.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the complex signals are magnetic resonance signals and the spatial characteristics is a susceptibility distribution of the object.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein a local magnetic field is determined from phase information in the magnetic resonance signals.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the object is at least a portion of a patient.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the susceptibility distribution is spatially varying.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the magnetic resonance signals include a first set of imaging signals and the additional information includes a second set of imaging signals.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the additional information imposes one or more pre-determined characteristics to the image of the object.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising generating the image by minimizing a cost function on a digital processor.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising color-coding the image in accordance with the spatial characteristic.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising generating a composite image by combining the color-coded image and another image of the object.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said another image of the object includes at least one of a computed tomography image, a magnetic resonance image, and an ultrasound image.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising processing the image for use in computer-aided diagnosis.

24. The method of claim 13, further comprising extracting from the image quantitative information of the susceptibility distribution.

25. The method of claim 13, wherein the additional information includes magnitude image generated from the object.

27. The method of claim 13, wherein the additional information includes predetermined characteristics of the object.

84. The method of claim 11, further comprising removing a noise signal from the imaging signal.

85. The method of claim 84, wherein the noise signal is removed by a spatial filter.

5-8. -8. (canceled)

10. (canceled)

26. (canceled)

28-83. -83. (canceled)

86-92. -92. (canceled)

92. A method for providing magnetic source magnetic resonance imaging using a magnetic resonance system based on an inversion operation describing a relationship between field and source signals, the method including:

collecting magnetic resonance signals from an object having a susceptibility distribution, wherein the magnetic resonance signals have phase and magnitude components;

improving a condition of the inversion operation based on additional information of the object, wherein the additional information of the object is independent from the phase components of the magnetic resonance signals; and

generating an image of the object by utilizing the magnetic resonance signals and the t inversion operation, wherein the image represents a quantitative estimation of the susceptibility distribution.

99. The method of claim 92, wherein the additional information includes imaging signals collected from the object independently from the magnetic resonance signals, the method further comprising:

improving the condition of the inversion operation by combining the magnetic resonance signal and the imaging signals.

93-98. -98. (canceled)

100. One or more computer readable media storing computer executable code for instructing one or more digital processors to provide magnetic source magnetic resonance imaging, the computer executable code including:

instructions for collecting magnetic resonance signals emitted by an object having a susceptibility distribution, wherein each of the magnetic resonance signals has phase and magnitude components; and

instructions for generating an image of the object from the magnetic resonance signals and additional information describing a relationship between field and source signals for the object, where the additional information is independent from the phase components of the collected magnetic resonance signals and the image represents a quantitative estimation of the susceptibility distribution.

101. The one or more computer readable media of claim 100, wherein the computer executable code further including:

instructions for storing the magnetic resonance signals; and

instructions for receiving user inputs; and

instructions for displaying the image.

102. The one or more computer readable media of claim 101, wherein the computer executable code further including:

instructions for determining the additional information independently from the magnetic resonance signals.

103. The one or more computer readable media of claim 102, wherein the additional information is determined from the user inputs.

104. The one or more computer readable media of claim 101, wherein the additional information is determined from the magnetic resonance signals.

105. The one or more computer readable media of claim 101, wherein the computer executable code further including:

instructions for transmitting the image through a network.

106. The one or more computer readable media of claim 101, wherein the computer executable code further including:

instructions for extracting from the image quantitative information of the susceptibility distribution.

107. The one or more computer readable media of claim 106, wherein the computer executable code further including:

instructions for color-coding the image of the object in accordance with the quantitative information of the susceptibility distribution;

instructions for generating a composite image by combining the color-coded image and another image of the object.

108. The one or more computer readable media of claim 107, wherein said another image includes at least one of a magnetic resonance image, a computed tomography image, and an ultrasound image.

109. The one or more computer readable media of claim 107, wherein the computer executable code further including:

instructions for registering the color-coded image with said another image of the object.

110-119. -119. (canceled)

120. A display device for displaying a magnetic source magnetic resonance image including:

a display area for displaying an image of a susceptibility distribution of an object; and

means for visualizing a quantitative attribute of the image of the susceptibility distribution of the object, wherein the quantitative attribute is based on magnetic resonance signals collected from the object and additional information about the susceptibility distribution.

121. The display device of claim 120, further comprising a processor for extracting the quantitative attribute of the image.

122. The display device of claim 120, further comprising means for color-coding the image in accordance with the quantitative attribute.

123. The display device of claim 122, further comprising means for displaying another image of the object, wherein the another image overlaps the image of the susceptibility distribution and the another image includes at least one of a magnetic resonance image, a computed tomography image, and an ultrasound image.

124. The display device of claim 123, further comprising means for registering the image of the susceptibility distribution with the said another image of the object.

125. A method for providing an image from signals collected from an object, the method including:

collecting signals from the object, wherein the signal include phase and magnitude components;

generating intermediate data from the collected signals;

providing additional information of characteristics of the object, wherein the additional information is independent form the phase components of the signals; and

generating the image to include a quantitative estimation of characteristic of the object based on the intermediate data and the additional information.

126. The method of claim 125 wherein the intermediate data is a phase image determined by a local magnetic field.

127. The method of claim 126 wherein the phase image includes field shift information.

128. The method of claim 125 wherein the collected signals are magnetic resonance signals and the spatial characteristics are a susceptibility distribution of the object.

129-132. -132. (canceled)